Fireside Lunch

There have been so many things that have changed for our family since my last blogpost in April. We moved, the kids changed schools, I got a little part time job, and we've tried to make time and room for all the emotions that have come with the changes.

However, we are still here and still just the same as we have been. With a new camera lens (to replace the one that broke), I'm taking pictures of the kids doing the cutest things ever and thinking about them after they go to bed. 

With those things said, I would love to say that I can get back into this space and do what every mom wants to: show pictures and talk about my kids. Something about this little slowing down and posting about being a mom is really fun for me. Here's to possibly more blogging...!

Getting Dressed For Easter

I am sometimes paralyzed and always overwhelmed when it comes to dressing up. Halloween, fancy events, etc is all too much for me. I think the root of the problem comes from living on a budget-I don't want to use all our clothes budget getting the right outfit for an event.



Sometimes the grandmothers really come through though! This year my mom bought matching shirts for the littles and almost-matching for Burl.

 

What was adorable was that no one was as excited to match as Burl was. He felt so proud to match his younger brothers, a feeling that most nine-year-olds just don't have. Fern was in there too, wearing her blue, and adoring her babies as the second mom of the house. 

This was our first Easter to make it to church on time for a parking spot and a seat in the sanctuary, so we celebrated by bringing the littles in for the music. I usually leave my phone at home when we go to church, but today I had it with me and was able to take a picture right before the service started. 

Easter is not at all about the clothes. At all. This is not a spiritual post. This is just a post about getting "fancy" dressed and loving the smiles my kids had. 

Cloudland Canyon

I'm back to blogging! Yippee. My main camera lens broke, which put a damper in my picture making abilities. Our solution was to upgrade my phone first, then save for the lens. I've finally gotten into the groove of getting them on the blog. So...here I go.



We are finally finding our hiking feet as a family of six. Lark and Ridge were so young yet so big, that we couldn't find many hikes where we could carry them both or have them walk. Now, we've got Lark in the carrier on John's back and Ridge is totally capable of walking! While these are minor details to some, they make or break our ability to hit the trail.



We headed up to Clouldland Canyon. First, we hiked the one mile loop where there are several remote primitive camping spots. Burl and I are itching to try backpacking, so we are doing it on our own speed: slowly.



Hiking with Burl is a different experience now. We don't see him much. He runs ahead of us then we catch up with him only to find that he has his knife out and is doing some nine-year-old boy thing. We love it.



We found a couple of creeks and they truly are my favorite outdoor activity. I never met a creek that I didn't love. 

After that exploratory hike, we headed over to the east rim of the canyon for the epic views and the picnic spots. 

Right now we still keep the food simple and stick to the basics. 

Once we finished dinner, we climbed down part of the canyon to a beautiful waterfall with the bluest pool at the bottom. Somewhere deep in my childhood memory, I remember hiking to this waterfall when I was very young and with both parents. I asked my mom, and she confirmed that we came here quite often before my parents divorced, sometimes with other families. This matches with my fragmented memory. 

One of the highlights of our time hanging out here was watching Burl. He ran around the edge and back five times, getting closer and closer to the base of the falls. With a lot of cheering on from me, he eventually stood under the freezing water as it hit his back. He was so charged up by this and said that it was one of the coolest things he's ever done. Gosh, he's fun. 

We set up the hammock, poked in the water, helped the babies and took a picture or two. Wink, wink. 

It was another great time outside. Endurance is increasing in all of us with each hike. It's pretty easy with children that enjoy it and incredible views like these!

Self Care Laughter

There is so much buzz and debate around self care these days. It's something that I think about as well! What works and what doesn't work for me is something that I wonder. For a long time, I used to think that self care for me was a break from the kids to do something on my own or with friends. While those are great things, it didn't always do it for me. It put me in a posture of always waiting to get away from my kids so I could relax, only to feel frustrated when I'm with them and never totally myself when I got back from my break.

Some of my breaks include: out to eat with friends, coffee shop mornings by myself, exercising (oldie but goodie), having friends over after bedtime for a bonfire, etc. Those are all good and I still do them occasionally. However, I've recently learned that actually playing with my children is some of my favorite self care! 

It was a nice day when they kids were off of school recently, so we went to the playground for fun and a picnic. We ate, they did their thing, I watched all the things that they wanted me to see, then I got in on the fun. 

I ran, chased, tickled, helped, and did a lot of laughing. That's happening more often, and I've so enjoyed getting involved and laughing with them. Being goofy with them brings me so much joy. In my search for feeling good in life, giving myself over to my role as mother has filled me so much. 

These are my children that I adore and they have truly been my best self care. 

Large Lark Turns 2

Because I like to overthink everything and make things harder on myself, one of my constant mom-thoughts is "does every child have a place and a voice in our big family, are they heard/do they contribute something of themselves to our family?" with a slight undercurrent of "the world does not revolve around each child-don't cater to them!" See, I'm a total mom-nut-job with my unnecessary thoughts.

As the youngest, Lark often gets dragged along to everything and often I wonder if we ever do anything for him. His birthday was going to be my indicator. Did he see it as his own celebration and fun, or did he see it as another activity forced upon him? 

The answer became clear: he saw it as his own. The older three were so cute helping him feel special. While Burl and Fern took over the streamer decorations, Ridge helped with a gentle hype. 

Ridge loved all his toys, while Burl and Fern used their tablets for their own pictures. Our sweet Lark, fresh up from bed, enjoyed the attention and loved his new little toys. 

Later that day, he wore his new, ugly, character shirt with pride. As family arrived, he greeted everyone and showed him his special shirt. We devoured cake and the ever famous charcuterie board. 

The candles were lit, the song was sung, and his smile was plastered on his face. What joy to watch a two year old GET IT. 

After he neatly ate his cake and opened his presents with enthusiasm, he did what he does best: he kept playing. 

As he grows and develops, I'm watching him become his own person. So far, I think we're ok on the everyone has their place. These days it's still just a lot of playing, which is Lark's expertise. He plays so well! For now, that's the most important thing that a toddler can do. We love our big boy, Lark. 

Self Care Play

My friend's husband came up to me a while ago and said, "Jess says she really likes hanging out with you and one of the reasons is you're really good at self care." That made me laugh! What a reputation! 

What used to be be called R&R is now self care, our new buzz phrase. It's thrown at moms the most-having a hard time? stressed out? BUT WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR SELF CARE? There's a pressure for moms to be really really great at self care to keep them mellow.

I'm good at doing things that makes me happy. I hang out with friends, I run, I (try to) meditate, I have hobbies, etc. I'm a hoarder of self care and most of my things are done away from my family and outside of my house. 

Not anymore though! My new favorite, most exciting form of self care is stopping it all and being with my kids. Playing, sitting, talking, answering questions, chasing, etc. It fills me so much right now! I say NO to my perceived fatigue, the mom chores, and all the other things. Like going rogue, I'm choosing self care that keeps me right where I am and embraces the love that's right in front of me. 

A Barefoot Day & Noodles

I'm loving being home with the two littles. They are increasingly more engaging and more fun! It's not hard for me to admit that my time with them often reminds me of my similar days with Burl and Fern. We did the same things, but without the hustle of school. For my sake, I try hard to keep our pace as slow as I can. I linger on the floor with them, take time to tickle them as I buckle them in their car seats, or hold them a little longer than normal. While I can't do this everyday, the days that I do it are the best!

I don't have any new tricks, so I just repeat what I did with Burl and Fern. It worked ok in my book! A household favorite are NOODLES! 

I set up the kids table in the kitchen and give them a bowl of dry noodles with spoons and measuring cups. They love the sensory, the freedom to do it on their own, and making a mess!

I try not to get involved but I do hover with total fixation on them. Look at Lark's little mouth in the picture above. Such focus! I love seeing this. 

Towards the end, I showed them that they could drive their trucks through it to make roads. That turned into them piling every truck that they had on top of the noodles. I loved it so much because it's just another little way these boys are being boys together and ramping up to the next level. I love them and my barefoot days with them. 

Finally! A Hike

I've really been looking forward to blogging about this little hike. Illness hit us (a reminder that we've actually been pretty healthy this season), so I've fallen behind on some of our goings and comings. Before the end of the year, however, we were able to get in our first local hike of 2018!



Besides our camping trips, we hadn't hiked in 2018! It's crazy to me, because it's meant so much to our family. When I look back at the year, I remember that we've spent a lot of time doing baseball then the bathroom reno that never stops.

John and I made a commitment to get in a hike over Christmas break. First, we passed this trail on the way to another trail on a land trust. When we got there, it was closed. I was so upset-what a setback with four kids! Anyways, we went back to this small, there-n-back spot that's not as interesting. 

My attitude quickly turned around because of the kids. Children are wired to have fun-they're always looking for it and always making it. Burl was especially adorable as he felt unleashed and could run ahead, going as fast as he wanted and climbing whatever he could!

An exciting part of the trail is that it passes under the Incline Railway and passengers always wave back!

Another highlight was finding the recently developed boulder fields just off the trail. This was a great surprise. We had so much fun exploring, climbing, and making loud noises. This spot off the guild trail was perfect for our family. We were really impressed with it! So much so, that I returned there with the two littles with some mom friends and their kids a week later. 

As I remember this trip, I remember how happy I felt. I told John that I really want to do more hiking this year. While I've heard some hilarious comments about hiking (there's no vending machine out there/it's just a walk in the woods), I don't relate. It calms me, it excites me, and it makes feel happy in a way that I can't fully understand. I'm so interested in it. As the country song goes, "I like it. I love it. I want some more of it."